Please join us for this event and help us with our aim for the Canberra RBN of building a network that crosses all industry sectors, public and private, and supports the transition to life after rugby for all players, and in doing so, enhance our community here in Canberra.

GUEST SPEAKER: BEN DARWIN

Ben Darwin represented the ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby at tighthead prop and was capped 28 times for the Wallabies. Ben’s playing career was unfortunately cut short in 2003 when he sustained a horrific neck injury in the World Cup semi-final against the All Blacks in Sydney.

Since that dark day and the resultant recovery period, Ben has obtained considerable experience in coaching, player development and analysis. This includes a variety of positions with the Western Force, Melbourne Rebels, and in Japan with NTT Shining Arcs and Suntory Sungoliath.

Driven by a desire to introduce a greater degree of empirical analysis into professional sport, Ben started GAIN LINE in 2013. Ben is involved at every level of the business, whether it be developing predictive models, presenting research findings or consulting with clients. GAIN LINE has developed an advanced metric, Teamwork index (TWI), for measuring the quantity and intensity of linkages within a team’s playing list, which can also be applied to the business world.

Ben was born in England, the youngest of 6 children, but his family moved to Sydney when he was a young boy. He represented Australia U21s and made his Test debut off the bench in the first Test against the Lions in 2001. Incredibly, a mere 12 months after his injury, Darwin conquered the Kokoda Track. He also completed his first Iron Man in 2008.